The children's librarian from Bridgetown, N.S., will spend four weeks studying early versions of her favourite story, Little Red Riding Hood, in the stacks of the historic children's library at the University of Florida.

Chilling details

While the details are chilling, the little girl manages to escape, she said, whereas in the earliest published version of the story — written by French author Charles Perrault — Little Red Riding Hood doesn't make it out alive.

The Brothers Grimm wrote the version most people know, Reynolds said, in which the girl gets eaten but is subsequently saved by a woodcutter who helps her escape from the wolf's belly.

"I've loved this story since I was a kid," Reynolds said.

Like many children, she said, she was fascinated by scary stories, because it gave her a safe space to think about frightening things.

In one very early version of the story, Reynolds said, the wolf eats grandma, and Little Red Riding Hood accidentally does too. (Angela Reynolds)

The story we should be telling

The versions of Little Red Riding Hood where she escapes without the help of the woodsman are closer to "the story we should be telling," Reynolds said. It doesn't frame the girl as a helpless victim; instead, the heroine is smart and she "figures out how to outwit the wolf."

Part of the lesson to be learned from the story, she said, is when you do find yourself in a bad situation, "you should be able to figure out how to get away."

In the earliest published version of the story — written by French author Charles Perrault — Little Red Riding Hood doesn't make it out alive. (Angela Reynolds)

Girl in a wolf coat

Reynolds estimates the Baldwin Library has around 400 copies of Little Red Riding Hood. "I'm not sure I'll get to all of them," she said, but she plans to study the illustrations as a way to map how the story has shifted over the years.

One of her favourites so far? The image of Little Red Riding Hood walking out of the woods wearing a wolf coat.